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Nature Inspiring MusicItalian composer, Antonio Vivaldi, created a piece of music entitled ‘The Four Seasons’, which is believed to be one of the most famous pieces of classical music ever written.

Taking its inspiration from nature, ‘The Four Seasons’ is split into distinct sections, the sounds of which clearly represent the season it is named after. The sound of bird calls inspires ‘Spring’, the hum of swarms of wasps inspires ‘Summer’, the horns of hunters inspire the sounds of ‘Autumn’ and the chattering of teeth inspires ‘Winter’. Why not listen to it for yourself; can you identify Vivaldi’s natural inspiration?

Take a walk in your local park or sit in your garden at different times of day. Close your eyes and listen to the different sounds that could inspire your own music. Think about the instruments you could use to replicate those sounds, the range of pitches you can hear and the atmosphere you could try to recreate. Could you use your body to recreate the sounds of morning birdsong?

For millions of years, humanity has been inspired to create artwork by the thing that has always surrounded us: nature. From the ancient cave paintings of bison and deer created in the stone age, to more modern pieces of art, such as ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ by Japanese artist, Katsushika Hokusai, which is inspired by the perils of a tsunami, the natural world has been the basis of paintings, tapestries, music and the written word throughout human existence. Let’s explore how nature could inspire you to create your own masterpiece:

The great wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Nature Inspiring PoetryWilliam Wordsworth was a British poet. Many of Wordsworth’s major works were inspired by the nature surrounding him.

One poem, entitled ‘Lines Written in Early Spring’, discusses flowers and plant life blooming and thriving, whilst birds hop and play nearby. Another piece, entitled ‘To the Cuckoo’, discusses the chirps and calls of a cuckoo which make him happy.

Which plants or animals could you write poetry about? You may wish to describe the sights and sounds of your garden or the crunching beneath your feet on a chilly day

could inspire you to write an autumnal poem full of onomatopoeia. Perhaps one of William’s most famous poems is ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’, which is often simply known by

the title ‘Daffodils’. How can you see nature’s inspiration in this poem?

Nature Inspiring ArtworkRobert Gillmor is an ornithologist (expert on birds), artist and illustrator. Inspired by nature and wildlife for as long as he can remember, Robert spent many hours watching his grandfather – renowned artist Allen W Seaby – creating woodblock prints in his workshop. Just like his grandfather, Robert began creating artwork inspired by birds, on which he became an expert.

Which animal would you love to become an expert on? Why not research your chosen creature online or visit a local nature reserve to spend time observing them in their natural habitat? How do they move? What colours, patterns and textures can you see? Think about how you could recreate these using different brushstrokes, materials or media.

An Extract From I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud By William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Robert Gillmor Photograph by Pigsonthewing is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Be Inspired!Inspiration for your own art based on the nature is all around you. Birds silhouetted against the bright sky, swarming and circling in unison, may inspire an abstract piece of art using charcoal on a blue fabric. Materials you find during a springtime walk, such as discarded feathers, leaves and twigs, could form the basis of a natural collage. Take a camera to your local park and capture a colourful bird in flight. The possibilities are endless: why not explore your local environment and use the vibrant colours, sounds and textures of nature to create some artwork of your own?Nature Inspiring Sculpting

Andy Goldsworthy is an award-winning environmental artist who uses natural materials, such as fallen leaves, branches, pebbles and stone, to create unique land sculptures. Andy created one sculpture, which he entitled ‘Spire’, from the trunks of 37 trees. Which natural materials could you use to create your own sculpture or piece of environment art? You could collect and arrange different coloured leaves to create a pattern, weave twigs and branches together to form a structure or stack pebbles in an interesting formation.

“Goldfinch in Flight” by Clive Brown

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Questions1. According to the text, which two things can be seen depicted in stone age cave paintings?

Tick two.

birds deer trees bison

2. Join the boxes to show which artist created each masterpiece.

Antonio Vivaldi Spire

Andy Goldsworthy To the Cuckoo

William Wordsworth The Four Seasons

3. Robert Gillmor is an ornithologist. What is meant by the word ornithologist?

4. The trunks of how many trees were used to create the sculpture entitled ‘Spire’?

5. What nationality was the artist who created ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’?

6. Fully explain how Antonio Vivaldi’s art was inspired by nature.

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7. Give two ways in which ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ takes inspiration from nature.

8. Discuss one piece of evidence which shows that humans have always been inspired by nature to create artwork.

9. Compare and contrast the work of two artists mentioned in this text.

10. Other than the types mentioned in the text, how else might nature inspire someone to create a masterpiece? Give one example.

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Answers1. According to the text, which two things can be seen depicted in stone age cave paintings?

Tick two.

birds deer trees bison

2. Join the boxes to show which artist created each masterpiece.

Antonio Vivaldi Spire

Andy Goldsworthy To the Cuckoo

William Wordsworth The Four Seasons

3. Robert Gillmor is an ornithologist. What is meant by the word ornithologist? An ornithologist is an expert on birds.

4. The trunks of how many trees were used to create the sculpture entitled ‘Spire’? The trunks of 37 trees were used to create Spire.

5. What nationality was the artist who created ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’? The artist (Katsushika Hokusai) who created The Great Wave off Kanagawa was Japanese.

6. Fully explain how Antonio Vivaldi’s art was inspired by nature. Pupils’ own responses, such as: Vivaldi’s art, a piece of classical music called The Four Seasons, was created to mimic the sounds of nature, such as bird calls and swarms of wasps.

7. Give two ways in which ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ takes inspiration from nature. Pupils’ own responses, such as: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is inspired by nature because it mentions many natural things, such as clouds, flowers and the stars. It is also inspired by nature because William Wordsworth seems to have been walking through nature when he wrote it.

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Art and Nature8. Discuss one piece of evidence which shows that humans have always been inspired by

nature to create artwork. Pupils’ own responses, such as: One piece of evidence that humans have always been inspired by nature is the pictures of deer and bison that were found in stone age caves, dating from millions of years ago.

9. Compare and contrast the work of two artists mentioned in this text. Pupils’ own responses, such as: William Wordsworth and Robert Gillmor are similar because they both have been inspired by birds in their work. They are different because William creates his art with words and Robert creates his art with pictures.

10. Other than the types mentioned in the text, how else might nature inspire someone to create a masterpiece? Give one example. Pupils’ own responses, such as: Someone may be inspired to create a piece of digital art on the computer based on their favourite animal or a landscape scene.